The,Herald and The Lantern

Page .1

Farmland: Wh« Cares

TIIE COMMITTEE on the Veteran's Cemetery at Crest Haven met recently at the Social Services Center. Rio Orande. The cemetery will be dedicated the Sunday before Memorial Day. 1980. Among committee members are. from left: Victor Pollse.

Freeholder Gerald Thornton, Myrtle Hevener and Boyd Tyfer. New Energy Source?

(From Page l) 'And I think." he elaborated 'if most of the problems we experience in this country today were left to the businessmen, with somb help from our legislators, they could resolve all of the shortcomings that is. the petroleum products, middle distillates, solar energy or whatever. "The American public has been sold short for so long All you've got to do is turn these businessmen htose and they'll find a way to make it work." he continued, "fin we'll have enough product to keep the rest of the businesses

going."

ACCORDING TO Mr. IK*Vico, it-'s the major oil companies who have sold I he country short. "We have been led down this road of no rejurn with regard to cheap product • hat's plentiful and this sort of thing. We didn't look for alternate sources." he said. mentioning an historical footnote to prove

his point:

"Henry Ford, back in l!»:tl tried to introduce alcohol in vehicles, but the major oil companies wouldn't hear ol that. That’s a shocker-back then, it was a belter product lor the vehicles there's no quest ion." Had the major oil companies agreed with Ford. DeVico indicated, the pollution problem that plagues many amcrican cities today would have never come about. Why 0 BECAUSE. HE explained. alcohol burns clean - its combustion component being carbon dioxide and water. Because of this, tests of engines that have run lor thousands of ’ miles on alcohol come up "clean as a crystal Mr. DeVico said he himself couldn't believe the diflerence in engine performance with gasohol, his own car running smoother with less dieseling resulting from the unleaded gasoline Furthermore, he emphasized even in the manufacturing of alcohol • it's distilled from farm products such as corn - the by-product is an edible, condensed mash that can be a valuable protein rich food source in underdeveloped nations and. in this country, fatty growth. Mr DeVico is looking to the day. which he hopes isn't too far down the road, when motor vehicles in this country will burn 100 per , : cent alcohol <as is already the case in Brazil* and ’••lien technology will have provided a method of using it for home heating "THESE TYPES of things will make us so

much more less dependent upon the foreign product that t lie oil thdt we produce in this country alone will be more than sufficient for our needs." Mr DeVico believes. From a bushel <56 lbs) of corn, he explained a little fhore than 2 gal of alcohol can be derived in addition to the IH lbs of edible

mash.

"There* are so many good things to this that it shatters one’s imagination in know that this has been in existence and yve haven't really capitalized on it." Mr. DeVicosaid. When the gasohol went mi sale in Cumberland County last week, it was a little higher per gallon than regular unleaded gasoline, but Mr DeVico sees the day in the not loo distant future when, because of mass production, it costs less than one dollar a

gallon.

Biggins Oil has the needed special government license to mix the alcohol with gasoline, and is doing so today at its Vineland plant. The raw alcohol is lieing purchased from a source in Pennsylvania. THE DECISION to get into the alcohol gasoline blending process was carefully studied and required H major capital outlay by Higgins, according to the company official - Mr. DeVico explaining how new mixing equipment and new pumps at each service station had to be purchased, along with the cleaning of underground storage tanks at eachslationsite. Fuel From The Fields (From Page 1) income farm products took a dip in income-producing returns. But, he added, a farmer can’t carry on indefinitely filling in For the nation's farmer and economy as a whole. Mr. DeVico. however, sees the hoped for advent of increased alcohol production as healthy "It helps the farmers It helps the whole country." he said. "It gets people working and moving And then it helps our economy, becduse we have a product here that we can use; that's a source of energy that’s so badly needed — and a very, very clean source of

energy

"That's the critical aspect right now," the Middle Township businessman continued. "Everything that we touch is either coal, nuclear ., and all of this has some questionable spin-off effects in regard to our ecology But alcohol...”

"Each lime you talk of Ihis. you're talking about thousands arxl thousands of dollars." he said of the station conversion process I kit despite the cost, the resistance from the major oil companies, and the red tape that had to be overcome. gasohol is about to make it’s debut on theJersey Cape. "In February, were coming to Cape May County." Mr DeVico assured. "Each one of our stations will have gasohol available here Then we ll move to Atlantic. Salem, and Burlington and Ocean counties in that order " The Phillips 66 station on Houle 9 in Cape May Court House will be first, billowed by or in conjunclion with the 66 station m Cape.May City. Mr DeVicosaid

< From Page l > willingness to contjfnue farming the land as long tfs it's profitable, he indicated, there's also the reality of desiring personal and familiar control of the land that has been farmed fora lifetime "Something more long lasting than a one-time pay-off" from the state is being sought by the Jersey Cape farmer and major landowner, "some kind of guarantee." he explained; a ^Compromise that the stale is willing to reduce some of its regulations if the farmer is willing "to keep the land in farming. k Mr. Betts, his father Walter. Les^r Germanio and Greg Mason of Belleplain. and Jack Vasscr of West Cape May - among the major lari downers in the county - are members of the recently formed Land Use Committee of the Cape May County Board of Agriculture, established to investigate alternate methods of farmland preservation The one-year committee will'be meeting with the stale Task Force on Farmland Preservation as well as other planning

agencies.

An initial state plan to preserve farmland by the purchase of development rights fell by the wayside because of the enormous amount of funding it required. "There's just not

enough money in the state." Mr. Betts pomtld out Any program that is accepted in New Jersey or Cape May County for farmland preservation must be fair to the farmer and landowner to be accepted." Mr Betts i* quoted as saying in a Jan 14 news release announcin'; the annual county agricultural board elec lion "It is an issue that all cit i zens have a stake In. buI is of particular concern to

farmers, since it is we who would Ik* asked to keep the land open Mr Betts reiterated these sentiments even more directly Monday Afternoon when he indicated less than enthusiasm on the part of the Jersey Cape- farmer for state-promulgated plans to seep land in the Garden State open "I wouldn't say there's any major land owners m the county excited about it.'hesaid \

Corn Oil: New Meaning

(From Page l>

tamount to the energy independence of the United States." he stated, saying later that expanded production of the Use of gasohol "will result in lower price\at the pump " HUGHES SEES in creased use of gasohol as not only a way of helping consumers save money, but as a way of cutting back on oil imports "Wliile the volatile situation irtthe Middle East threatens our supply of gasoline," he said, "the Russian presence in Afghanistan has resulted in President (barter curtailing the sale of grain to the .Soviet Union providing us with an abundant supply of grain- f6r increased product ion of gasohol ’' Hughes said it is estimated that U S. use of

the grain formerly ear marked for the Soviets could produce $00 million gallons of gasohol this year In addition to wheal and other grains, the alcohol for.gasohM Can be made* from corn, sugarcane, sweet sorghum, cassave and other plant materials A MIXTURE of alcohol and gasoline, gasohol is viewed by Hughes as a clean, renewable and domestically proceed source of energy whichhas already tiecn proven in other parts of the world In Brazil. Hughes pointodout, motor vehicles already run oh a blend of 17 percent alcohol and it’s expected that within two years, motor vehicles in that South American country will Ik*- running on too perceWt alcohol

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